Maine is a state known for its natural beauty, strong sense of community, and a kind of independent spirit that people who fancy themselves free thinkers think they actually have. The state is home to a diverse array of landscapes, including rugged coastlines, dense forests, and pristine lakes and rivers. Mainers are proud of their state’s natural resources and have a deep respect for the environment that includes no billboards. In fact, Maine is so interesting that we were able to come up with more than 60 facts about the 23rd state. Continuing our 50 States series that includes Alabama, Georgia, Delaware, and Idaho, check out our list of Maine trivia!

What is Maine known for?

1. Lobster! Maine is pretty famous for their lobster. Maine’s cold waters and rocky coastline provide ideal conditions for lobsters to thrive, and the state produces a significant portion of the world’s supply of lobsters. Lobster is a significant part of Maine’s economy and culture, and the state has a long history of lobster fishing. Lobster is a popular food in Maine, and many restaurants in the state serve lobster dishes. Maine also holds several lobster festivals and events throughout the year, including the famous Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland, a 5-day event that draws a crazy amount of visitors each year.

2. The wilderness! Maine is home to many beautiful and wild landscapes, including Acadia National Park and Baxter State Park. Maine has a strong tradition of conservation and sustainable use of its natural resources, and many efforts have been made to protect its wilderness areas. As a result, Maine’s wilderness remains a valuable resource for both residents and visitors to the state.

3. The coastline! Maine is known for its beautiful and rugged coastline, which stretches for over 3,000 miles and includes thousands of islands, coves, and inlets. The coastline is a major part of Maine’s identity and plays an important role in the state’s economy, culture, and history. Maine’s coastline is also a major draw for tourists and is a beloved part of the state’s natural beauty and charm.

4. Lighthouses! According to the Maine Tourism Association, there are 65 lighthouses in Maine — and many of them are still in working order. Maine’s lighthouses are known for their distinctive designs and locations, and they have become popular tourist attractions. Some of the most famous lighthouses in Maine include the Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth, the Bass Harbor Head Light Station in Tremont, and the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec.

 

Official state symbols of Maine

5. Just like Alaska to the north, the official state animal of Maine is the moose. That was made official in 1979.

6. Moxie was declared the official soft drink of Maine in 2005.

Click on the cans to buy your own Moxie soda!

 

7. The state bird of Maine is the Black-capped Chickadee.

8. The Tourmaline is the state gemstone of Maine, probably because Maine has some pretty nice-ass tourmaline. In fact, it’s so nice that it’s considered as good as the elite tourmaline you’ll find in Brazil, California, or the Himalaya Mountains.

9. Blueberries are a big deal in Maine! Big enough that blueberry pie is the state dessert and the wild blueberry is the official state berry of Maine. If you do not know what blueberries look like, we have provided a picture right here.

10. The eastern white pine tree is basically the tallest tree in Eastern North America, which is probably why Maine made it the official state tree in 1945. Maine also happens to have a shitload of these pine trees, which is probably a big reason why Main is often called the Pine Tree State.

11. The official state flower of Maine isn’t even a flower! It’s the white pine cone and tassel.

12. Maine does not have an official state junk food but the Whoopie Pie is the official state treat!

Click on the picture of the Whoopie Pies to buy your own Maine Whoopie Pies!

13. In 1999, Maine was so bored they got together and decided that Chesuncook soil would be the official state soil of Maine.

14. Guess what the state insect is? Go on, guess! No. Guess again. No, that’s not it, either. Give up? It’s the honeybee!

15. Maine designated pure Maine maple syrup as the official state sweetener in 2015. Somerset County in Maine is the largest producer of maple in the country.

16. The wintergreen — the favorite gum flavor of many — is the state herb of Maine.

17. Bet you didn’t know that the official state fossil of Maine is the Pertica quadrifaria! Designated in 1985, it was a plant similar to a fern that lived 400 million years ago during the Devonian Period and would grow up to six (6) feet tall.

18. The landlocked salmon is the official state fish of Maine.

19. Did you know that Maine has a flag? It’s true! It was adopted way back in 1909 and it looks like this:

 

Early History of Maine Facts

20. For thousands of years, the Wabanaki peoples — which included the Androscoggin, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot — lived on Maine land.

21. The very first white people may have came to present-day Maine around the year 1200. In fact, Maine may be the site of the earliest “discovery” of American land. Norwegians came from Iceland and Greenland and had identified America as a potential settlement, but were not able to make it permanent.

22. The first white people who have been confirmed to settle in Maine was in 1604, the result of an expedition led by French explorer Pierre Dugua de Mons and his pal Samuel de Champlain. They settled on Saint Croix Island, and named the place Acadia — just like the national park!

23. A few years later in 1607, the Plymouth Company settled the first English settlement in Popham Colony.

24. In 1692, the Massachusetts Bay Colony annexed Maine, and Maine remained a part of Massachusetts for the next 128 years.

25. The first naval battle of the American Revolution — The Battle of Machias — took place off the coast of Maine in 1775.

26. Maine became the 23rd state in the Union on March 15, 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise.

Click on the book to buy Maine: The Wilder Half of New England by William David Barry!

Maine Topography & Geography

27. Of all the 50 states, Maine is the 39th biggest at 35,385 square miles.

28. More than 32,000 miles of streams and rivers are carved throughout the Maine land, with the longest being the 418-mile St. John River that partially borders the United States and Canada.

29. Portland is the largest city in Maine. It should not be confused with the hip city in Oregon.

30. Driving across Maine wouldn’t take you super long. It’s 320 miles from north to south, and just 205 miles from east to west.

31. Mount Katahdin is the highest point in Maine, at more than 5,260 feet above sea level.

32. The lowest point in Maine? That would be the Atlantic Ocean — which is zero (0) feet above sea level! The next lowest point in Maine was when your mother visited.

33. Maine is the eastern-most state in the contiguous United States, and West Quoddy Head is the peninsula that is the eastern-most point in the country.

34. Moosehead Lake in Piscataquis County is the largest lake in Maine at 117 square miles.

35. The capital of Maine is Augusta! Weird, right?

36. Maine has almost 3,500 miles of coastline — believe it or not that is more than California!

37. Maine is the only state in the United States that shares a border with just one other state: New Hampshire.

 

Where should I visit in Maine?

38. Eartha is the world’s largest rotating globe, and it is located in Yarmouth, Maine. It measures like 41 feet in diameter and weighs 5,600 pounds, and won the Guinness Book record in 1999 for this neat-o feat of engineering.

39. The Portland Museum of Art (PMA to locals) is a must-visit for anyone interested in art — especially of Maine resident Winslow Homer. The collection’s greatest hits also include works from heavyweights like John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper, Annette Lemieux, Claude Monet, and Andrew Wyeth.

Click on the book to buy Highlights from The Portland Museum of Art!

40. Outdoor brand L.L. Bean had its beginnings in Freeport, Maine in 1912, and there is a big-ass boot at the flagship store there that is great for fans of big-ass roadside attractions. This 16-foot-tall sucker is apparently a size 410! You know what they say about big boots.

41. The Maine Maritime Museum is located in Bath, and showcases Maine’s relationship with maritime history through exhibits on lobstering and shipbuilding. Bath, Maine is located on the Kennebec River and is known as The City of Ships. Visit and see for yourself!

42. To commemorate the very last hand-cranked phone system that finally stopped providing a cranking-based phone service in 1983, this huge-ass 14-foot iron sculpture of a phone was built in 2008. You can find it in Bryant Pond, Woodstock, Maine.

43. The International Cryptozoology Museum is in Bangor, Maine, and they say they are the only museum of its kind. Cryptozoology is the study of animals that might but probably do not exist but are nonetheless fascinating — like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and yetis —to the extent that such things can even be studied. The museum claims to have hair samples of such beasts like Bigfoot and Abominable Snowmen. They even have yeti shit! Like, poop that came out of a yeti. Or so they claim. You are encouraged to visit and see for yourself and report back.

44. Transportation nerds who are into vintage aircrafts and automobiles will totally dig the Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head, Maine that specifically specializes in pre-1940 vehicles. The OHTM, as the kids call it, also has old motorcycles, bicycles, and carriages on display, as well as exhibits that highlight the early history of modern transportation.

 

Fun, Cool & Weird Facts About Maine

45. Maine people call themselves Mainers. This is what’s called a demonym.

46. The Burt’s Bees brand is famous for its high-quality lip balms and skin care products. The company was founded by this dude Burt Schavitz who quit his job as a photojournalist in New York and moved to Maine to become a beekeeper. Fans of the brand who assume Burt’s is like a socially responsible corporation or something may be disappointed to learn that it was sold to the Clorox conglomerate in 2007 for $925M. If that is something that you as a consumer are willing to overlook then you may as well buy their shit through the link below.

Click on the picture of the lip balm to buy Burt’s Bees!

47. Strong, Maine was once known as the Toothpick Capital of the World because like 95% of all the wooden toothpicks produced were made in Strong. Toothpicks started falling out of favor with the general population and in 2003, the last toothpick mill in Strong closed down. We used to have nice things in this country.

48. There is only one syllable in Maine, the only state in the United States with a one-syllable name.

49. In 1873, a 15-year-old kid named Chester Greenwood got tired of his ears freezing while he went ice-skating in the Farmington, Maine weather so he invented earmuffs. Every year in December, the city of Farmington celebrates this occasion with the annual Chester Greenwood Day parade.

50. One day on March 26, 2011 in South Berwick, Maine, a whole bunch of people from Wicked Whoopies — perhaps the premiere whoopie pie makers in the whole wide world — helped create the largest whoopie pie ever made at 1,067 pounds. Making whoopie, indeed, amiright?

51. There are no billboards in Maine! That’s right, no huge-ass eyesores peddling stupid wares like junk food dotting the highways of Maine. The state loves and values its precious wilderness so very much that they banned billboards in 1978 so they wouldn’t fuck up all the pretty scenery in Maine. This is a great idea that all other states should do.

52. Being the most easternmost city of the United States, the people of Eastport, Maine are the very first people in the country to see the sun rise each morning.

 

 

What famous people are from Maine?

53. Contemporary fantasy horror novelist Stephen King just may be the most famous author in the history of the entire world, except for maybe that guy who wrote the Bible. He was born in Portland, Maine, and is very much a dedicated and loyal resident of the state. The Bram Stoker Award-winning writer has mentioned Maine in many of his stories, referencing its towns and using them as settings.

54. Filmmaker John Ford — winner for four (4) Best Director Oscars for The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), and The Quiet Man (1952) — was born in Cape Elizabeth, Maine in 1894.

55. American painter Waldo Peirce, who once painted a portrait of his friend Ernest Hemingway for a 1937 issue of Time magazine, was born in Bangor, Maine.

56. Superstar actor Anna Kendrick — she of Twilight, The Twilight Sage: New Moon, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 — was born in Portland, Maine. In 2010, Anna Kendrick was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for a film that was probably not from the Twilight series.

57. Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born and raised in Portland, Maine.

58. The board game manufacturer Milton Bradley was born in Vienna, Maine in 1836.

59. Only two (2) players in the history of the NBA were born in Maine: Duncan Robinson and Jeff Turner.

60. Television personalities born in Maine include race car driver Patrick Dempsey (Lewiston), sports reporter Erin Andrews (Bangor), Doogie Howser M.D. co-creater David E. Kelley (Waterville), 6x Tony nominee Linda Lavin (Portland), and Suddenly Susan guy Judd Nelson (Portland).

 

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